Imprint
by cowgirlep4ec
Summary: What would happen if Jacob had have met his soulmate in the park that day? What would it have been like? Who is she? And does she feel the same way? A short story about Jacob finding his soulmate.
1. Unexpected

**Authors Note:**

**Hi everyone.**

**So this is my first ever fan fiction and I'd like to mention a few things:**

**First, I am Team Edward all the way and I wrote this because a friend of mine (who is Team Jacob) spent a lot of time complaining about Jacob and his imprint. So I have rewritten that part of Breaking Dawn!**

**Second, I'm Australian so if you find that some grammar and spelling is different, blame the language, not me!**

**Third, a disclaimer: Jacob is not mine, but belongs to the genius, Stephenie Meyer. Alyssa, however, is completely mine (but is most certainly not me!).**

**And finally, review! I'd like to know what others think of my writing!**

**So I think that is it. I hope you like my short story about Jacob and his soulmate! **

Chapter One: Unexpected

I started to wander back towards the car but stopped halfway across the park. What good would it be to go back to the car, I had nowhere to go. I sat down on a park bench surrounded by girls who are not the one and played with the car keys as I lose all sense of time. What might have been minutes, or hours later, I hear some couple having a fight, I try to block to out, but the mumbling continues.

_Why can't I just be left alone, is it not bad enough that the girl I love is practically already dead and I can't do anything to stop it_, _now I need to listen to some couple fighting! No I refuse to take this._

It takes me a minute to collect the energy to stand up and walk over to the fighting couple. I walk slowly towards them, a man and a girl. I can see that the man is taller and significantly broader than the girl, but all I can see of the girl is that she is very small; perhaps she's only a child. As I get closer I realize that the man is grasping the girl's wrist whilst she tries to break free.

"Listen James, you're a nice guy, but I just want to be friends" the girl's voice doesn't match or statue, or the assumption that she's really young.

"Alyssa, I like you a lot and we will be together" the way he said it sends a ripple through me, though why I can not fathom; it's like this girl doesn't have a choice in the matter. I can see that the man's hold on the girl's wrist has tightened and the girl gasps as a crack comes from under the guy's hand.

This is too much, I step up behind the girl, "Let go of her" I snarl through my teeth, but my voice sounds weird- like I've been crying or something- not the image I want this guy to have.

"Hey dude, this is none of your…" the guy turns and looks up the 6 ft 8 inches of my statue and his jaw drops open with a click, but his hand is still tight around the girl's wrist. I can feel the girl trembling where she is standing in front of me, although I keep my eyes glued to the guy's hand around her slim wrist.

"NOW."

I can't help wondering why I'm so angry; I don't know this girl from Eve. Maybe, I thought, if I can save_ this_ girl it would help alleviate some of the pain for losing Bella, maybe this guy reminds me just a little too much of my own feelings of loss, and I really don't like that comparison. Either way I was mad, and it was showing. The man slowly, finger by finger, removed his hand from the girl's wrist, still staring wide-eyed up at my face.

"Leave. Now."

My teeth are still grinding together but now that this guy had removed his hand from the girl some of my anger has drained out of me. James stares at me like a frozen statue for another minute before turning to disappear in the opposite direction, but not before throwing a meaningful look towards the girl as if to say, _this isn't over._

I turn to walk back to my bench, and the grief that has consumed me for the past few hours, weeks, months, when I noticed that the girl, Alyssa, is now trembling violently, clutching her left wrist to her chest.

"Hey, listen, can I drive you to a doctor or something, I think it's broken."

_Why do I want to help this girl_, _do I feel a little responsible for her broken wrist? Maybe. Or maybe my good-guy side is rearing it's helpful head where it definitely isn't wanted._

"Sure, um, that would be good," and with those words I'm once again struck by how mature her voice is; I still can't see her face but her voice suggests that she's older than her frame suggests.

I start walking without another word assuming she will follow; I have better things to worry about than my manners, or what some stranger thinks about me.

When I reached the car it took me a moment to realize that Alyssa had stopped to stare at the bloodsucker's car.

"Wow! This is your car?"

I still can't see her face and with a jolt I realize that the problem is that she's so tiny, her head would only reach the bottom of my ribcage if she stood right beside me.

She's standing there waiting for an answer to her question and it took me a minute to decide I'd better answer, "No, it's just something I borrowed. Do you know anything about cars?" I have this sudden urge to make her feel comfortable as she starts carefully climbing into the passenger seat, her left hand clasped tight to her chest. Why should it matter if she's comfortable near me, I'll just drop her at a hospital somewhere then… what? Head back to Forks to watch Bella die? What other choice do I have?

"Nadda. But I can change a tyre."

I can hear the smile in her voice as I get in the car, but I still can't see her face, only her dark hair, falling straight past her shoulders. I turn the key in the ignition and the engine roars to life before I realize that the girl is having trouble getting her seatbelt on with only one hand. With a sigh I lean over to help, she definitely doesn't have the body of a child. I push the belt into the buckle with more force than really necessary and my curiosity gets the better of me, or maybe it's an unconscious pull, and I look up at her face, into her eyes.

I know that her lips are moving but I can't hear her thanks because at that moment I see her, what I'd been looking for all day. But it's more than that; I can feel her, like the only thing left to me in the world. Suddenly I feel whole, like I'd been walking around as only half a person but never realized until my other half found me. Until_ she_ found me. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was- my love for the dying girl in the arms of her bloodsucker, my love for my father, my loyalty to my new pack, the love of my other brothers, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my self- disconnected from me in that second- snip, snip, snip- and floated up into space. But I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was. Not one string but a million. Not strings but unbreakable steel cables. A million steel cables all tying me to one thing- to the very centre of the universe. I could see it now- how the universe swirled around this one point. How hadn't I seen the symmetry of the universe before, it was plain. The gravity of the Earth no longer tied me to the place I sat. It was the girl sitting next to me in my enemy's car, the girl with the chestnut eyes set in an oval face that held me here now.

Suddenly those mesmerizing eyes began to fill with tears and I realized that as I looked at her my arm had unconsciously reached out a hand to touch her, accidentally grasping her damaged wrist. Seeing the pain in her eyes I suddenly remembered my task that a few minutes ago seemed unwarranted, now was a life or death situation, now I wanted to stay with her, indefinitely. I threw the car into reverse so quickly and forcefully that I almost broke the gear shift, pulled out of the two handicapped spaces I was parked across, and started speeding down the main street following the signs to the hospital.


	2. Hospitals

I was trying very hard to keep my eyes on the road whilst feeling the invisible pull of the girl sitting next to me. I can feel that she's not really looking at me, but on one of my very frequent peeks out my peripherals I was sure I saw a glint of chestnut eyes through her hair that has been pulled in front of her narrow shoulders.

She can't possibly feel the same pull I do, I mean it's taking all my strength to keep from touching her, watching her, knowing her. Surely if she was feeling the same magnetic pull I was she would be on my lap by now. It's very hard to believe that her tiny body could hold as much emotion as mine is now, it would break her for sure.

"Pull into that drive, it will bring us to emergency," Alyssa whispered.

A wave of warmth runs through me at the way her voice wraps around the word 'us' and I happen to look down at the speedometer, _geez I'm going way too fast, if she noticed it would probably scare her._

I pulled into the driveway she'd pointed out and cringe as the car screeches to a halt in a waiting bay, _surely she must have noticed that_.

I reach over to help Alyssa with her seat belt again and I'm struck again by the beauty of her face mainly because of those brown eyes looking right into mine.

"Um… thanks for bringing me here. I guess you can go now… you don't need to stay with me… ah" she breaks off and it takes me a moment to realize that she doesn't know my name.

I scramble in my head, trying to remember it, "oh… um… I'm Jacob Black, and I think that I should stay, incase that guy comes back."

It wasn't technically a lie but it wasn't a factor in why I wanted to stay. She stared at me for a moment, it seems like she's thinking very hard, her dark eyebrows pulled close together over her mesmerizing eyes and I'm caught again by how lovely she is, even when she's thinking really hard.

Maybe she needs help; I try to play dumb "I just pluck you from a fight and I have no idea what you name is."

This has to make her talk, I was starting to notice the way her lips moved around her words, and I liked it. "Oh…ah sorry… I'm Alyssa." She paused, and this time I didn't break the silence. "That would be nice… if you stayed. But if you need to go, don't let me keep you. I saw you earlier; you seemed to be in a hurry to find someone. Did you find them?"

She was observant and it was obvious she was trying to say that she wanted me to stay, but felt guilty about it. I can feel her guilt almost like my own, and it hurt me to know that she was worried, "yeah, I found her, turned out that I needed to stop looking, then she kinda fell into my lap."

Her pink lips stretched into a small smile, was it possible that she understood that it was her I'd been looking for earlier? No. Impossible. How could anyone possibly know that a stranger was searching for you when you'd never even met them before?

We sat in companionable silence for a few moments, not really looking at each other but not looking away intentionally either, then she shifted and the moment was gone as I remembered why we're sitting in a waiting bay in front of a hospital in the first place. I hurriedly climbed out of the car and was almost falling over myself trying to help her as she stepped out of the bloodsucker's car and headed to the entrance of the emergency ward.

As the doors opened I was hit by a wall of noise and the strong smell of bleach, strangely this smell hadn't become any less agitating to my senses during my extended exposure to a very similar scent over the last few days. The place was crowded and as Alyssa and I wound our way between the people I was trying with all my being not to reach out and touch her, because I'm sure that if I did I wouldn't have enough control to stop. We moved to the front desk, which was manned by a girl who might have been pretty if I wasn't in Alyssa's presence, or if I hadn't met grudgingly stunning bloodsuckers in the past.

Before I could do more than open my mouth Alyssa jumped in by saying "I had an accident, I think my wrist is broken

I definitely wouldn't have called it an accident. Curiously the girl quickly flashed a look at me, hovering slightly over Alyssa, and then told us to sit down as 'it may take a while.'

The girl at the desk wasn't kidding, the afternoon wore on as Alyssa and I watched people come and go; people who had gushing wounds and coughs, to those who thought they had some weird virus or other, and one unfortunate guy had been stabbed with a fork by his girlfriend when he proposed. I peeked at Alyssa often and every time I looked her lips would stretch into a small smile, but we didn't talk, except every once in a while when I would ask her whether her wrist hurt and she'd tell me it didn't, though I knew she was lying through her teeth, and she didn't look at me. So we sat in silence waiting and watching I could feel other eyes on us but I didn't care, the only eyes I wanted on me were Alyssa's, and she wasn't very obliging.

Finally we were asked into an examination room, which was white and smelt more strongly of bleach than the waiting room. Some guy who seemed to think he was extremely important, poked and prodded at Alyssa's hand whilst she winced and I clenched my teeth together, before informing us that her wrist _seemed_ to be broken, _very good doc, I could've told you that!_ Alyssa had X-rays and her left wrist had a stress, or hairline, fracture that was so thin it was almost invisible, and she would need a plaster for a few weeks.

Whilst waiting for the plaster to be fitted it happened that curiosity got the better of the doctor and he asked, "so… how did this happen?"

He only seemed half interested, like he really didn't want to know but needed to ask anyway.

Once again before I could do more than open my mouth to answer Alyssa said "Oh… um… it was an accident. Nothing major."

For some reason Alyssa seemed nervous, and why on earth would she say that a broken wrist was nothing major! I was about to jump in and set the story straight when the doctor threw a almost frightened look at me then back at Alyssa, obviously he had an opinion about this "accident" and thought it was my fault.

OK, so a rational person might have thought about it for a moment, of course he would see the giant that was me next to the tiny girl with the broken wrist and jump to conclusions, but unfortunately I wasn't feeling very rational at the moment. This self important jackass had spent the last hour putting _my_ Alyssa through obviously a great deal of pain to tell us something that we already knew, and then thought that it was me who had done it to her!

I was ready to rip his head off when once again Alyssa jumped in before I could move, almost like she knew what I was thinking, and was trying to avoid a bloody scene, "Yeah, lucky Jacob was there to drive me, I would have had to walk otherwise. He's a lifesaver!"

She said it quickly, but it was filled with so much gratitude that the doctor couldn't doubt it, and I was definitely stunned at how much emotion was fused into her words. We were out fairly quickly after that, I had a feeling that the doctor wasn't quite as oblivious about my feelings as he seemed.

As I drove through the dark streets, following Alyssa's directions to where she lived, I couldn't help but think about what happened next. I couldn't stay next to her forever, in a few minutes I would drop her outside her home, then what? I had to see her again, but I had other responsibilities too, my pack, the bloodsuckers, Bella. It was strange how everything had changed in a few hours, Leah had been right, thinking of Bella didn't hurt me anymore; she was still my friend, maybe my best friend, but everything was in a better perspective now. I belonged with the girl beside me, what I'd felt for Bella paled in comparison, like a lamp next to the sun. The knives that used to dig at me when thinking about Bella dying were suddenly blunt; they hurt, but instead of cutting, they bruised me.

"This is it," said Alyssa, cutting through my train of thought.

I cut the engine but no internal light came on inside the car so I could only see half of Alyssa's face by the streetlights.

"Um… thanks for saving me today, and driving me to the hospital, and bringing me home… it was really nice to do Jacob, most people wouldn't have bothered."

She was talking like she wasn't going to see me again. This thought sent my heart racing, how could I leave her, there was no way I could not be near her. My panic was clawing at my throat and I tried to swallow it but it congealed as a lump that I was finding it hard to breathe around.

There had to be something, someway I could stay just a bit longer. She was looking everywhere but at me now, and as I tried to watch what she was watching I noticed the clock; it was just before midnight, wow how long had I been awake?!

"Umm… listen Alyssa it's getting late and I really should be leaving," I didn't want to be saying these words but they just kept coming, why was I getting her permission to leave her, I never wanted to be away from her again.

I felt like I would be pulled apart, like I'd rather die now than be without Alyssa so soon after finding her.

"Oh right… you probably have someone wondering where you are," I could see a glint in her eyes and before I recognised it I saw the offending moisture spill over and run down her cheeks, she was in pain, and suddenly the sharp knives were back, carving at my heart.

I hoped that maybe she was upset because she didn't want me to leave either, I had to know why she was hurting so much; "Alyssa… what's wrong, are the painkillers wearing off? Please don't cry… I'll do anything to stop you from hurting."

It was true, I would give absolutely everything to keep her from pain, to keep her full stop.

"Jacob I'm fine, you should go, it's almost…" at this point she saw the time on the clock and her voice caught for a moment, "… oh Jacob it's almost midnight and you still have to drive home, you'll fall asleep for sure, you must be exhausted. I'm sorry I kept you."

The tears were rolling faster now and her voice was rising towards a panicked pitch, I couldn't stand it, I had to stay, I wouldn't leave her like this whether she wanted me or not. I had a hit of inspiration then, it was so clear how I could stay with her until tomorrow, if she wanted me there of course.

"Alyssa, I'm worried about driving home right now, I've been awake forever and, if it isn't too much trouble, I was wondering if I could stay here with you tonight?"

She finally looked up at me, straight into my eyes, like she was looking for something. I didn't know if she'd found it but after a moment she answered, in no more than a whisper "really, you'll stay?"

If I didn't have really good hearing I probably would have missed it, then her voice continued louder, stronger "of course you can stay… it's the least I can do after all that you've done for me today!"

I was beyond words at the depth of the emotion she could suffuse into those first three words, I hardly heard the rest I was so wrapped in the idea that maybe she felt the same way I did. Well not _exactly_ the same; it was hard to believe that she could hold _that_ much emotion in her tiny body.

I helped her from the car and we entered her black house, it took her a moment to get the lights on and I was suddenly concerned about who else might live here, it didn't take her long to answer my unspoken question, "my parents are away this week on a trip, they won't be back for a few days."

How was it that she knew exactly what to say to answer my unspoken questions, it was almost like she knew what I was going to ask before I asked it. At that moment she looked up at me and my musings were forgotten as I looked down at her olive-toned face.

She was talking and it took me a moment to pay attention, I was lost in her eyes, "ok so you can sleep in my room, I'll sleep down here on the couch."

_What?_ That didn't seem right, "Maybe I should be on the couch, I'm the guest… and you're injured," I couldn't help throwing in about her wrist, it would make it easier to convince her to sleep in her own bed, surely.

She took a moment to look at the full height of me then she smiled slightly, arching her neck to look at my face, "the couch isn't long enough for you; you'd probably have to bend in half to fit. I, on the other hand, am a lot smaller and therefore will fit much better."

She seemed almost smug, like she thought the conversation was over; _not even close_. I opened my mouth to argue that the couch wouldn't bother me when she kept talking "besides, like you said you're the guest, I won't have a guest sleeping on the couch and seriously uncomfortable when there's a perfectly good double bed upstairs that he'd fit better on."

Then she started walking towards a staircase on the other side of the living room, obviously the conversation was over. How is it that someone so small could have such a hold over me? I followed her up the stairs and down the hallway to the second door on the left, watching her hair swing down her narrow back as she moved. She opened the door into a room that was slightly disheveled with an unmade double bed. Everything smelt of her. There were photos of people I didn't know, of people that meant something to her, around the room.

Her voice interrupted my train of thought, "So I'd better let you get some sleep, the bathroom's across the hall. Um… I'm downstairs if you'd like anything," Alyssa said. Then she closed the door and was gone.

How was I supposed to sleep with everything that had happened today? Everything had started out so badly and now it was almost perfect. I lay down and was overcome by the scent of Alyssa; this was where she slept, where she dreamt her dreams. Suddenly I was exhausted and I knew that it wouldn't be long before I was completely dead to the world. I had time for only that last thought before I was dreaming, I had to be, I was no longer aware of tomorrow, of anything but the oval face behind my eyelids, surrounded by waves of dark hair, framing light brown almond shaped eyes.


	3. Alyssa

**Author's Note:**

**I decided that since so far you've only heard what Jacob was thinking that I should give you an idea of Alyssa's thoughts. So I present you with this…**

Chapter Three: Alyssa

I was lying on the couch downstairs, looking up at the ceiling trying not to think. I couldn't sleep, and it didn't have anything to do with my broken wrist that was slightly throbbing, I was used to it by now. I couldn't stop thinking about the boy in my bed. I wasn't surprised though that Jacob was on my mind; since I'd first looked into his black eyes I hadn't stopped thinking about them; every time I closed my eyes it was like I was staring into them.

I had to see him again. I wasn't even close to sleep, so why not do what I'd wanted to do since the moment I'd closed my bedroom door on him; see Jacob again. If he caught me, it was my room; I'm allowed to be there in the middle of the night if I want to be! I didn't need any more convincing. Quietly I made my way across the living room and started to climb the stairs. I could see from the microwave clock in the kitchen that it was just after 2.30 am. I crept down the hallway and stood before my closed bedroom door, my heart trying to break through my ribs. I lifted my right hand to open the door and saw that it was shaking badly.

_For God's sake Alyssa, get a grip! It's your room! You're being ridiculous_

My hand didn't stop shaking, but I managed to turn the door knob and the door swung open silently.

There he was, lying diagonally across my bed with his head resting on my pillow. My shaking stopped the moment I saw him, my heart calmed back to some semblance of normal. I took a step closer to the bed and the floor creaked. I tried not to move whilst his snoring faltered and then when they started again I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. My brain was screaming at me that I shouldn't be here, why did I let this guy I didn't know into my house in the first place, he could be an axe murderer for all I knew. My brain continued screaming questions at me, but I really wasn't listening. My feet had stopped me right next to the bed, where I could feel his breath on my exposed skin.

His arms were splayed across the bed in my direction, and every once in a while his fingers would twitch, like he was reaching for something. I suddenly thought how easily I would fit into the space next to him, that maybe he could be subconsciously reaching for me. My brain was silent for a long moment, it wasn't screaming and I was numb for a moment, trying to decide if it would be a bad idea to curl up in his tanned arms. I could be gone before he woke up, I never slept in late, and he would never know I was there.

N_o this is wrong_; I know nothing about him. I struggled internally until the thought came to me like a flash of lightening, to answer all the questions that had been buzzing in my mind all day; _it doesn't matter, I will know everything about him soon._

With this thought cancelling all the negative arguments I was left with all that I'd wanted since hearing his voice behind me today. I crawled onto the bed, trying very hard not to jostle it, or even breathe. With a bit of effort I angled myself into the space Jacob's arms made. I lay down with my head resting on his arm, and a tension in my shoulders I hadn't known was there suddenly relaxed. I realized that I'd been carrying around this tension all day, since I had looked into Jacob's eyes in that flashy car.

Things had changed so quickly; one moment I was trying to get out of a terrible situation, and then this guy had come and swept me into an almost perfect afternoon, besides the throbbing of a stress fracture in my wrist and the thinly veiled suspicions of domestic violence from the hospital staff.

It was strange how comfortable it was lying in his arms; I fit perfectly and if I didn't know any better I would think that his body and mine were meant to fit like this, two corresponding pieces to the one puzzle. I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes. He smelt like rain and moss and dirt, but not in a bad way, more like a forest after a rainstorm; clean and fresh, but with a woodsy tang. I knew nothing about this stranger in my bed besides a name, a face, and a smell, but I wanted to know everything, and I kept telling myself that I would. We fit together and it was something I could feel in my soul, he must feel it too; why else would he have stayed with me all this time?

Suddenly his snoring faltered again, and for a moment I was sure he had woken up, how could I possibly explain to Jacob what I was doing lying beside him? Would he leave forever? That thought hurt more than I could have imagined possible.

I didn't need to worry though, he just sighed then his snoring started up again, louder than before. I was suddenly exhausted and I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open. Jacob's snores were soothing, and I was being lulled towards sleep very quickly. I didn't bother to wonder at how easy it was to fall asleep now that I could feel Jacob's body next to mine, I didn't bother to think about tomorrow, or that Jacob would probably go home and I may never see him again. As my thoughts became less coherent I suddenly felt a warm arm wrap around me and the scent that was already familiar intensified.

Then, lying in my double bed I fell asleep dreaming of a boy who was suddenly my everything, whilst his arm held me tight.

**So that's it!**

**That is all there is to my short story about Jacob and Alyssa.**

**I really hoped you liked it and if you would like to hear more about them in the future review and tell me so! Otherwise I'll just leave it as is!**

**EP**


	4. Morning

**Hi all,**

**So I know that it has been a really long time since I updated, but honestly I wasn't planning on writing anymore!**

**I wrote this a few months ago, but I didn't know if it was any good so I didn't add it to the other three chapters!**

**Hope you enjoy it!**

Morning

The sun woke me up and for a few minutes I lay there wondering why I was so comfortable. Then I remembered the previous day, I remembered Alyssa and my unwillingness to leave her. My eyes shot open and I saw the bedroom from last night; the organised clutter of books on the desk, the pictures of people with my Alyssa. Then I felt something pressed to my body move, I froze and looked down to realise that my arms were wrapped around her, around my life, around Alyssa. She looked so peaceful lying in my arms, her dark hair near my face, she was so close I could smell her, she smelt of sugar soap and strawberries, and for a long moment all I could do was stare without thinking about how she'd ended up there, or what would happen next. I wanted to stay with her, but I had unfinished business in Forks; what if Sam attacked whilst I wasn't there, what if my selfishness got people killed? I didn't love Bella anymore, not like before, but that didn't mean I wanted her to die. Alyssa stirred then and all of my thoughts focused back on my soul mate, although she didn't know that yet, did she? She was here wasn't she; she had moved from the couch downstairs to the bed in her room, sleeping on my arm, next to my own body, maybe she had missed me. _Or maybe she was uncomfortable and wanted to sleep in her own bed!_ I vehemently stamped down on that thought before it could take root, I wanted to believe that she had come because she wanted to be close to me, in the same way I wanted to be close to her; always. Alyssa stirred again and began to stretch in my arms, all I wanted was to pull her closer and never let go, but I have to take things slowly otherwise I'll scare her away and I could control myself as long as it meant she never left my side again. I closed my eyes and after a small squeeze I loosened my grip on her, I would give her the opportunity to sneak out and get downstairs before following her. I heard her sigh quietly and stretch again, then slowly she rolled out of my arms and I instantly felt the loss, like someone had cut my hand off and I was still trying to get used to it. I heard her every step to the door, then she paused and I imagined that she looked back at me before opening the door and making her way quickly down the stairs and into the kitchen. I lay there a minute longer listening to her opening cupboards and pulling out saucepans, she was humming as she moved around the kitchen and it took a moment to recognise it was one of those Taylor Swift songs that are always on the radio and I couldn't help smiling, I had something to add to my small list of things I knew about Alyssa; she was intuitive, observant, stubborn and she liked Taylor Swift, this was a great start to our relationship, I knew almost nothing about her but I never want to be away from her again.

I jumped off the bed and silently moved out the open door, drifting towards Alyssa and the smell of cooking bacon. I moved down the stairs with inhuman silence and stood on the landing watching her back as she stood in front of the stove. However after a few moments she turned and without looking up at me smiled "are you hungry? I'm making bacon on toast, apparently I make the best."

It took a moment to realise she was talking to me, she hadn't even looked at me yet and she knew I was here! That was impossible, I was silent, no human ever heard me coming and even a Sam had trouble unless he was listening for me! I was still confused when she finally looked at me and our eyes met from across the room, I was mesmerised by them instantly and started to move forward into the kitchen to sit at the table between us. Alyssa waited, watching as I took a seat and I realised that she had asked me a question. I'd been so surprised that she had heard me coming I had completely forgotten that she had asked if I wanted something for breakfast. "Oh... um sure I'd love something to eat. But I can make it, you don't have to cook for me!"

I didn't want her to think I was hopeless, or lazy, but every time she looked at me my brain seemed to freeze so I couldn't even form coherent sentences.

"It's alright Jacob, bacon on toast is one thing I can make without burning anything." She smiled to herself as she turned back to the pan of bacon, obviously remembering a previous misadventure in cooking.

"Are you sure, I could start the eggs whilst you do the bacon?"

I wanted to wait on her, to show her I was more than just muscle, but I'd never made eggs before and it probably wasn't as easy as it looked.

Alyssa turned her head to look at me and a smile was playing on her lips, "I don't really like eggs. I mean I used to love them but I reached my quota and now I really can't stand the smell of them. Although sometimes all I want to eat is eggs and I can stand them then. How many pieces of toast do you want, one or two?"

It was one of the longest things she'd ever said to me and not only did it get me off the hook with trying to cook eggs, but it gave me something else to add to the list of things I knew about her. I realised that maybe I should let her know a few things about me; nothing big (like that I can morph into a giant wolf), just something small in case she was compiling her own list about me, I wanted to make it easier for her.

"Well that's probably a good thing, I've never cooked eggs before and I'm sure any attempt on my part might lead to me burning the house down. Oh and umm... two pieces of toast would be great."

I was famished and could probably eat the whole loaf of bread and all the bacon in the pan, but that wasn't polite so I'd just hope that Alyssa couldn't hear my stomach growling. She popped two pieces of bread into the tiny toaster then turned back to watch the bacon. Was she avoiding looking at me? She seemed to be trying very hard to keep her back to me as much as possible. I had to get her talking again.

"So... um how was the rest of your night, it's still a little early to be awake considering how late I got you home last night" I said with some trepidation.

She didn't look at me this time when she answered, "Seven o'clock isn't early, Jacob. Actually I usually get up earlier than this. I forgot to ask, how did you sleep? Were you comfortable?"

Was I imagining that she sounded like she was smiling? I got up silently from the table, making sure that I was quiet this time, and made my way around the table until I was standing behind her. I leant down almost double (was she this small last night?) to whisper in her ear, "I slept well, thank you for giving up your bed for me".

She jumped and spun around so quick she knocked the pan of bacon; I could see it starting to fall to the floor and quickly grabbed the hot metal, placing it back on the stove. Ow! That was going to sting in a minute, I could feel my skin blistering, but I was more concerned that Alyssa had seen too much.

She was staring at me, but it seemed more angry than scared, "are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

She obviously hadn't seen my bacon save, which was probably a very good thing, but I had obviously scared her by sneaking up behind her, like another girl I used to know; still knew. I had to wonder about Bella and our relationship, I still loved her and although it wasn't like before I still cared what happened to her and that meant that I needed to go back to Forks very soon, she still needed my protection. But by protecting Bella I would be leaving Alyssa, and just the thought of that was crushing.

"Well?" Alyssa's angry voice drew me from my inner thoughts.

I decided to turn on the charm that I hoped I possessed, looking into the light brown depths of her eyes I said "did it work? If you want I could try again." I smiled surely showing all my perfect, white teeth.

After a moment of more of glaring at me Alyssa's eyes softened and she smiled back at me "I almost lost a pan full of bacon, oh the bacon!"

Spinning away from me she looked back at the pan and saw that our breakfast wasn't ruined; she hadn't seen my save, thankfully and the stinging in my hand had abated. "You almost owed me eight dollars worth of bacon Jacob Black. Now get out of my kitchen before I have to forcibly remove you myself."

I entertained the idea for a moment of watching her try to forcibly remove me from the kitchen, but only a brief moment before she picked up the metal tongs and turned towards me, holding them like a weapon. I quickly moved back to my seat and sat watching as Alyssa removed the toast from the toaster putting two pieces of bread in for herself. She piled my plate with most of the bacon in the pan then placed the plate in front of me. I couldn't help but notice how domestic this seemed, the woman in the kitchen making breakfast for the man, all I needed was a newspaper and we'd be the perfect couple. I didn't just think that, did I? I was thinking of Alyssa and I as a couple and we had barely spent more than twelve hours together. Sure, she was supposed to be my soulmate, but she didn't know that! Not yet.

"You should probably eat that before it gets cold. Unless it tastes terrible then maybe you shouldn't eat it. Is it terrible?" She sounded sad and concerned as I looked up to see her sitting down across from me at the table.

Her eyes showed that it hurt her I hadn't even touch my bacon on toast and when I looked down I could see that she'd even put BBQ sauce on it for me, how did she know I liked it, looking over at her plate I saw she had added the same to her own toast; add to the list "likes BBQ sauce". I quickly folded the first piece of toast in half and took a large bite, it was great and as the first bite hit my stomach I realised how famished I really was. I quickly devoured the first piece of toast before remembering that I wasn't alone or with my pack, I needed to at least pretend I was normal, for her. Looking across at Alyssa I saw that she was smiling to herself as she ate her own breakfast. We ate in silence; every once in a while casting hesitant glances at each other. When we had both finished Alyssa removed the plates and placed them in the sink before sighing and turning back to face me.

"So um, I suppose that someone is wondering where you are, you should probably be getting back to... wow yesterday I didn't bother to learn your name when you saved me from James, now I don't have a clue where you live!" She looked at me with a mix of curiosity and annoyance and I felt inclined to talk, to let her know as much about me as possible.

"I live at La Push, near Forks. It rains a lot, but when the sun comes out the beach is really nice." Then I had a flash of inspiration, "You should come and see it sometime soon, I'd love to show you around Alyssa, if you'd like." _Please say yes, please say yes._

"I'd really love that Jacob; I haven't been to the beach since I moved here a few years ago. If you need to get back to Forks you could probably be back there before lunch if you leave now." She offered me a small smile and began moving towards me. Was she trying to get rid of me?

"Do you want me to leave Alyssa?"

It shouldn't hurt this much that she may not want me sticking around, what did I really expect, I was a stranger to her, just because I want to be with her forever it didn't mean that she automatically felt the same way. She had just wanted to sleep in her own bed last night, with a broken wrist it made sense, and it was probably just easier to sleep next to me than trying to shift me! She didn't love me, she didn't feel like her life would end if I wasn't here, she...

"No." Alyssa had stopped in front of me on the verge of tears! "No, I don't want you to leave! I never said that did I? I just thought that you had much better things waiting for you at home!"

I didn't miss the meaning behind her words.

Her voice getting higher and more hysterical as she tried to explain that she never said she wanted me to leave.

"Alyssa. Alyssa STOP!"

I jumped up from my seat and covered her shoulders with my hands, and the moment my hands encased her frame her mouth closed with a small click. She was obviously upset and I realised that the one thing that hurt me more than her being upset was her being upset at me!

"I don't want to leave you. Look I've never done this before..."

I was telling the truth, I had never done anything like this before; with Bella we were friends that became more.

"... Um Alyssa, can I call you sometime?"

I was looking at my feet and for a long moment Alyssa didn't say anything, _why isn't she talking? Maybe she's trying to think of a nice way to turn me down? She's probably already taken!_ Then I heard her sigh,

"Really?"

I looked up and was caught by the intense look in her eyes.

"I was hoping that we might be able to um... go out? You know like on a date."

It sounded so cheesy and I could feel the blood rising in my cheeks as I thought about how dumb I must seem to Alyssa. Before I could think anymore about how ridiculous I must look I felt soft fingers on my chin, looking up I realised that Alyssa had stepped closer and was looking at me with a small smile on her lips, "I'd love to go out with you sometime Jacob!"

I was shocked, she liked me! 'Willing to give the stranger in her living room a chance' liked me! I was as high as a kite and I really wanted to stay with her, but that was not possible right now; my responsibilities were getting more and more difficult to ignore and maybe if I left now I could come back sooner.

"I need to get back to Forks, but I want to see you, soon." I couldn't help but smile at her, _she liked me, and she wanted to go out with me!_

The smile on her face dropped and disappointment coloured her next words; "Oh ok, I'll show you to the door."

She led the way to the front door and opened it so I could step through first. I made my way down the steps then turned to face her, "Goodbye Alyssa, I will call you soon. However, it might be a few days; I have a few things to do."

I hated that I needed to leave her, but I had loose ends to tie in Forks that needed my attention.

"I'll look forward to talking to you Jacob."

With her on the top step of her front porch and me at the bottom we were a lot closer to the same height and for a brief moment I entertained the notion of kissing those lips in the near future. Before I could say my last goodbye, Alyssa took a step closer to the edge of the top of the porch. With that one step my nostrils were once again filled with the sugar and strawberries scent that was becoming a drug to me. I was more than a little intoxicated by her scent so when her lips touched mine I didn't see it coming, and for a moment I was frozen, then I unfroze as my lips began to burn like wildfire and Alyssa pulled away with a gasp, stepping back her cheeks a brilliant scarlet.

"I'm sorry Jacob, I just..." she looked away, like she couldn't look me in the eye.

For a long moment I was stunned, nothing was hot to me; my body temperature was usually a toasty 108 degrees fahrenheit! But Alyssa's kiss had sent a fire through my body that I couldn't explain, it was like a shot of liquid fire that left my lips tingling. I reached out to touch Alyssa's cheek, it would have felt hot to a normal person, but to me her skin was cool.

"I like you a lot Alyssa; I will definitely call you in the next few days."

I offered Alyssa my biggest, sweetest smile; she was powerless to resist smiling a small smile in return.

"Bye Jacob" Alyssa whispered.

I turned and headed back to the bloodsuckers Volvo.

As I drove away I could see Alyssa standing on her doorstep watching me go. I had more things to add to my list about Alyssa; she was passionate, her lips tasted like sugar, she could make mean bacon on toast, she made me warm when everything was cold, and she was strong enough to wait until I was almost out of sight to shed a tear at my leaving.

**So, did you like it? Please review!**

**Just so you know this was a short story about Jacob imprinting on a normal American girl. Therefore I do not plan to write anymore of this story!**

**But, if you're interested I am beginning work on a new story that is more my style! (Edward and Bella)**


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